Taking A Stand
by Kayin Sparkle Dreemurr
Summary: There are many timelines to the Underground… many that are nearly the same as the others… but there are a few where things are different. One small change, a different choice taken, can transform everything. This is one such story. (Asriel resists Chara more, Alternate Universe with no Death of Asriel)
1. Prologue

**Authors Note- This story was inspired by potoobrigham's Childhood comic series.**

The sensation of taking a soul was… not what he had expected. He'd expected it to feel warm and fuzzy, to feel like what he imagined the sun could bring, or the feeling of a warm hug. Instead… he felt… numb. His being felt heavy and cold, even though their bedroom was as warm as it always was.

 _Is it supposed to feel like this?_ Asriel asked, then blinked when he realized his mouth didn't open when he spoke… and when he saw himself standing and flexing his fingers and stretching… he felt it, but he knew he wasn't doing it.

 _Mhm… an interesting feeling, being inside you like this._ Chara responded after a moment, before saying aloud "No idea. I think we might be the first to do this in a long… long time… far too long."

 _Okay then… uh, why can't I move my arms?_

They blinked a bit, then Chara hummed a bit, before saying _Try moving both your arms._

Asriel tried, but only his left arm moved the way he wanted to. _Mhm… interesting… I think I get it… we're… sharing this body… I think my Determination gives me more of the control though…_

Asriel shuddered and hugged himself… or at least, he did in his mind. _T-That's kind of scary… t-this is still my body after all._

Chara chuckled a bit… though there was something… off about it. _If it were the other way around, I'd probably feel the same… but don't worry brother… we're going to change the world… make it a… better place…_

Even though he felt himself smiling, that cold, numb feeling wasn't leaving Asriel. A part of his brain tried to whisper a warning to him, trying to connect the dots… but Asriel banished such thoughts before they could fully manifest.

 _I can't doubt Chara… he's my best friend… my brother. This will work… we'll free everyone, show the humans… that Monsters and Humans can be friends. Can be family even._

Chara chuckled again, nodding his head as he murmured "Yes brother… we'll show them."

The oppressive, cold feeling seemed to swell briefly before subsiding. They turned and moved towards the bed where Chara's body remained. The body was still warm… and… Asriel could swear he felt the faintest of movement from it…

 _C-Chara… is… is your body still alive?_ Asriel asked, shuddering at the thought as Chara picked it up. Chara didn't answer immediately, instead turning and heading out the door and towards the throne room… and the path to the barrier.

 _It won't be for long… and it's just a shell now._

Asriel went quiet at that, not sure how to respond to it. It wasn't what he'd expected his friend to say… however, it did give voice in his head the chance to whisper again. This time, he wasn't able to brush it aside as it asked him why they needed his body… Chara was a part of them now after all, and in control… he could just walk them out to his village to see the Flowers…

 _Maybe… Maybe he just wants to put his body there for… sentimental reasons?_ He thought, and this time he kept the thought to himself… or at least tried to. He wasn't sure if Chara heard… Chara's focus seemed laser focused on the path ahead of them.

It didn't take long to reach the barrier… it was a short walk after all. Benefit of having their home basically built right next to it. They paused at the threshold… Asriel sensing a brief hesitation in his brother.

 _S-Scared?_ He asked, to which Chara simply shook his head.

 _Worried it might not work. Only one way to find out though._

Walking into the barrier, Asriel wasn't sure what to expect. He could sense that Chara expected it to be like walking into a wall, or trying to walk through water… but with their souls united… it was just like walking from one room to the next… only, the room on the other side was a grassy cliff looking over a village in the distance. A bright blue sky stretching across the horizon, filled only with a few clouds and a big bright golden orb…

 _What in the Underground is that!? My eyes hurt just looking near it!_

Even Chara had to shield their eyes for a moment… but only a moment. _It's the sun you big dork… you know, the thing your mother's science books talk about? And your not supposed to look at it anyways… besides, there's something far more interesting down that way._

Asriel could feel Chara briefly relaxing some of his hold so Asriel could look down… in the distance, he spotted a small town. A human town.

Asriel smiled a bit at the sight of the quaint little town… it kind of reminded him of Snowdin, only less snowy. "So is that where your from? It looks like a nice place, mayb-"

That oppressive feeling came back in force, but this time, there wasn't cold… it was… heat. Like a fire had been lit all around him. He could feel them moving again, long, determined strides that made the ground shake just a bit.

"Yes… it's where I come from. And it's where the next step of our plan begins…"

The way Chara said that made the seed of doubt within him grow a bit… his voice seemed to drip venom, yet he could feel his muzzle spread in a smile as a dark joy began to swell within his brother. It wasn't a smile that engendered happy feelings inside the monster.

Hesitantly, he asked _S-So what's the next step then Chara?_

Chara's smile widened. "We'll go to my hometown… place my body in the golden flowers of the fountain… then we'll show them all the GOD like powers we can have… when man and monster join together in peace and friendship…and kill them all!"

For a brief moment, Asriel's doubt had been ready to wither away… but that feeling, that voice in the back of his mind seemed to know what was coming. Even so… he was not prepared for what Chara, his brother, his best friend, had said.

 _W-What?!_ Asriel screamed as they drew closer to the town. He could see a few humans going about their daily business as the sun slowly began its descent towards the horizon. With each step, Asriel could feel the fire in their joined soul growing… fires of rage, of anger…

Of Hate…

 _C-Chara… we only need six human souls… you… you said we'd only get them from bad humans! Why did you say all like that!?_

Chara just chuckled a bit as he stood straighter, noticing that some of the humans were starting to spot him. _You only need six to destroy the barrier true, but you see, the thing is… humans are bad. Violent. Ruthless. Afraid of what they can't understand or control… they are a disease. Monsters though… Monsters aren't like them… Monsters deserve this world more than humans do._

Asriel could see the humans reacting as well… he could also hear their shouts and cries. They were indeed afraid… but Asriel didn't think it was for the reasons Chara was saying. It finally began to click in his mind as they drew near the fountain Chara had spoken of.

 _What are you planning Chara?_

Chara laughed, the sound hollow, empty. _I'm going to give a demonstration of our power… attract attention… make a statement…_

They were setting Chara's body in the flower bed in the fountain… Asriel could hear the worried and fearful screams of many of the humans… he heard a clacking sound as someone shouted,

"I don't know what you're doing with that child… but you best back away before anyone else gets hurt!"

Asriel could hear the fear in the man's voice… but his mind was more focused on the words the man had said. It was a threat… but it wasn't an aggressive one. There was a chance for things to end peacefu-

"This is exactly what I was saying… always quick to ATTACK, to FIGHT!"

Time seemed to slow then as Asriel felt the deep seated hatred that was rooted in Chara's soul… there was not even a flicker of love that Asriel could see, no compassion, no empathy.

Within that dark void, Asriel could feel Chara's intent. It was loud and clear… with this newfound power, if given the chance, Chara would massacre every single person in this town… men, women, children, old and young… he would kill them all, and only grow stronger as he stole their souls…

Asriel realized he had a choice to make… the only question was when he would make it. His instincts told him that he'd only have one chance to do it right… one chance to make sure no one got hurt…

Suddenly, he felt a strange feeling welling up within him. It wasn't coming from Chara or his soul… it was coming from… well, he wasn't sure where, but it was welling up in his soul. A powerful feeling that steeled his courage, that gave him the strength… that gave him…

… DETERMINATION.

Suddenly, he could feel all of his body again. The distant, detached feeling as he rode passenger in his own body was gone. He was in control. And he knew what he had to do.

"Your wrong Chara… and… and I won't let you do this…" He said aloud, sensing Chara's surprise as he heard the human behind him stop. "If I'd known… if I'd known this was your plan all along…"

 _What are you doing!? Let me show them just what a Monster can do!_

Asriel shook his head. "No… I can feel your intent… you want a fight… you want to kill. You didn't want to teach the humans love…"

Asriel felt himself lose control of his mouth for a moment as Chara's soul flared with rage. _"LOVE comes from RESPECT, and RESPECT comes from FEAR Asriel! And I will show them why we should be feared!"_

Asriel shook… he could feel Chara fighting him… and Chara's determination… it was giving him more strength… Asriel would lose this battle… unless…

If Asriel had had more time… he might have tried something else. He might have tried to do something to subdue Chara… but with the lives of an entire town… and who knew how many others at stake… Asriel did the first thing he could think of.

"No… NOOOO!"

His hands shot to his chest, and using his magic, he reached in… he took hold of Chara's soul, took hold of that pit of hatred and vile poisonous rage…

And he expelled it.

He watched as the red heart leapt from his chest and flew back into its body… as he did so, he felt the struggle for control fading, but he also felt himself thrown back a bit as their combined form quickly faded.

His whole body felt tingly and strange as he felt the determination within him ebbing just a bit, but still there… he could hear the gasps of surprise and confusion from the humans as they tried to make sense of what they witnessed.

With a groan, Asriel sat up and rubbed at his head, opening his eyes to see the human who'd made the threat. He eeped, his eyes shrinking as he saw the gun he was holding… though it wasn't aimed at him. The man was giving him a confused look, before his and Asriel's attention was drawn back to Chara.

Chara was struggling to sit up, on his sides and his bangs were hiding much of his face at the moment. He was panting, his body struggling with the effects of regaining a soul and the buttercup poisoning he was still suffering from.

"You…" He sputtered, venom dripping from his words. Asriel gulped but steeled his resolve again, glaring at his friend. That didn't stop his voice from stuttering a it as he said,

"Y-You can't hurt anyone now Chara…"

That seemed to give his brother renewed strength… because he jerked his head up, his face twisted into a visage of hate as his crimson eyes practically glowed with rage.

"You… _You… You IDIOT!"_


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thanks to my friend Talisman and Anna for pre-reading and helping out with feedback! Hope folks enjoy this chapter!**

Asriel had never seen such emotions in anyone.

Admittedly, he didn't have much to go on. Monster Souls were made of magic, love, and compassion. It was difficult for Monsters to feel hate, to feel rage.

Humans it seemed, or at least Chara, were different.

Chara was still under the effects of the toxins eating the buttercups had brought, but his DETERMINATION was giving him the magical strength now to fight it as his red eyes blazed with the fire of his anger, his rage… his hatred.

He didn't think it was directed at him… at least, not the hatred. Though, from the way his brother was looking at him he couldn't be sure.

"You… You IDIOT!" Chara shouted again as he managed, with some effort, to stand. His legs quaked and his hands shook as they balled up into fists. "We were so close Asriel! Just what were you thinking would have to happen when we came up here?!"

Asriel slowly pushed himself back up, letting him return Chara's hate filled glare with a determined one of his own. Again he felt the surge of that energy… that special power that could do the impossible…

"T-This… this isn't what I wanted Chara." Asriel replied. Even with the DETERMINATION he felt in his soul, his emotions were all over the place, not knowing what might happen next, only knowing that he wasn't going to let Chara's plan succeed. "This isn't what y-you said we'd do!"

"How else did you think we were going to get the souls Asriel? Just ask six humans nicely if we can borrow their souls?! 'Oh mister, if you'd be so kind, could you please give us your soul, so we can free the monsters?' Hah!" he spat, the hatred dripping from every one of his words.

"You didn't say anything about killing innocents! Y-You said we'd only go after bad humans!" Asriel shouted back… only to backpedal back into the armed human from the hostility of Chara's stare.

"THEY'RE ALL BAD!" Chara bellowed, glancing about as he noticed some more humans arrive, holding weapons but not yet raising them. Asriel noted that several of them were now giving their full attention to Chara, and ignoring him.

"Humans are ruthless, violent!" He shouted, his voice getting louder as his emotions boiled forth. "They hurt each other over the smallest of things, they kill each other over petty things and destroy everything around them! Everything they touch eventually turns to ash and bone! They don't know love Asriel!"

Asriel could see some humans shifting about, though many were frowning or even glaring at Chara now. He wasn't sure about it, but he could swear one or two of them seemed to recognize Chara…

"They fear what they can't control, and if they can't control it, they kill it. Just look around you! We hadn't done anything yet, and they were already rushing for their weapons, weapons designed to make killing each other as simple as flicking a switch!"

"Of course they were afraid!" Asriel shouted back, his courage returning as he took a few steps forward.

"They saw a strange creature carrying a child in its arms, a child that they thought was… dead…" His voice trailed off there as his mind put the pieces together again. He knew why the humans had been afraid… why they'd been freaking out… They'd seen their joined form walking through the streets… with a seemingly dead child...

They'd thought… that he'd killed the boy he was carrying… and that…

 _Chara… you…_

Asriel's own eyes had left his brother, his friend for a moment as he worked through it. Now they returned, his own gaze full of hurt and anger as he realized the truth. Or at least some of it.

"Y-You… Y-You USED ME!" Asriel screamed out, the pain he was feeling only growing a bit worse when he didn't see Chara do anything to deny it. His eyes began to water as hurt and anger crashed about in his soul. "Y-You knew w-what would happen if I carried you out here like that!"

"So what if I did?" Chara called back, eyes flashing in anger. "I love you Asriel, but you've always been such a crybaby dork, I knew you wouldn't be up for doing what needed to be done!"

Asriel's tears weren't just of sadness or despair now… Chara's words were making him angry… angrier than he'd ever felt before.

"What was n-needed? What was needed was only s-six Chara. Six more souls, and t-then the barrier can be broken… we don't NEED an entire village's worth… and certainly not the rest of humanity!"

Chara was shaking his head, fists quaking further. His eyes were almost glowing with his DETERMINATION and anger. Asriel might have been seeing things, but he almost swore his sclera turned black for a brief moment.

Chara spoke again, and Asriel wondered if he remembered it wasn't just the two of them standing here.

"They are _parasites_ Asriel. Vermin. Beasts. The REAL Monsters. I've seen and felt it firsthand… I've read our history… the only way for the Monsters to be truly free… to be at peace… is if humans are gone… can't you see that?"

There was, almost, a tone of pleading to his brother's voice.

"They haven't changed Asriel… there's more of them too… there's nothing that will stop humans from imprisoning the monsters all over again… or destroying them!" Chara added on, taking a shaking step forward. "Monsters deserve this world more than they do… it has to be this way, we have to kill them before they kill us!"

Asriel realized that Chara was now ignoring the humans… which, given his words, wasn't too surprising. He could hear some of them murmuring, could see a few humans with children now trying to keep the children behind them. A few, especially the ones with guns, were starting to look rather disgusted and sick of Chara's words…

Maybe Chara was trying to egg them on again… maybe Chara wanted one of them to get so mad at him that they'd do something to hurt him, to guilt him into thinking he was right… to do what he figured was needed.

Asriel could still feel some lingering emotions Chara had been feeling when they were joined… he knew, at least, that Chara was speaking truth… or at least, he was trying to convince himself of it, that his brother, his best friend, was being sincere when he said he loved him.

But as he looked into Chara's eyes… as his own magic helped him to see Chara's soul better… all he could feel right now was hate. If he was to shift into a FIGHT he was certain a dark, blood-red aura would be surrounding Chara…

Chara's hatred was consuming him now that he was here, now that he'd had a taste of power, power that he could use for his vendetta against humanity.

He could see… and feel the greater truth… he had made the right decision. And now… now he had to make another one… it was going to hurt to do so.

"It doesn't have to be that way Chara… you just want it to be that way. And right now… with all the hate I see and feel in you… the things you wanted to do… there's only one bad guy here right now… and it's you."

Asriel turned away from Chara, his tears flowing again. He wanted his Mama… he wanted his Father… he wished they were here… he… he wanted to think that Chara, his best friend, his brother…

Silence fell on the square as everything again seemed to hold still. Many of the humans were still confused about what was going on, though more than a few were giving sympathetic glances to the small little… well, was he a monster? He didn't look like one… not like he had moments before at least…

Chara stood there, eyes wide as he stared at the back of Asriel… his brother, the first Monster to take him in… to show him what love was really like… a tiny voice in his mind tried to rally, tried to break through the hate and anger and pain… his mind was in conflict as he tried to make sense of all the emotions he was feeling.

He loved and cared for Asriel… he knew that. He'd done all this, put himself through physical pain and watched Mom and King Dad Guy suffer as they were unable to help him while he was sick. This had been for them, for all of them… and yet, now, the one he cared so much was standing in the way...

Rage and hatred however, were feelings he had felt for much longer, and kept bottled up for so long. The desire for vengeance against humanity for what it did to itself, for what it had done to the monsters… for what it had done to him…

There was just too much of it. Love can be powerful, but so can the darker emotions. And those emotions had been with Chara for much, much longer.

Something inside Chara snapped as all that pent-up emotion redirected itself at the only person he was really able to see through the haze of red and black. There was now one person responsible for stopping the Monsters from being free… stopping humanity from being wiped off the face of the Earth like the plague it was.

Asriel felt the world around him dim slightly as the FIGHT lines formed and his own magic warned him he was in mortal danger. Then he heard the inarticulate scream of fury as he slowly turned and saw Chara charging towards him… magic was gathering in his hands, forming a blood-red blade that resembled the knife that Chara had brought with him when he fell into the underground.

Asriel knew some magic… but even with as angry as he was at Chara right now, he couldn't bring himself to strike his friend with it. He could only stare, horrified into the eyes of the hateful demon rushing towards him.

This wasn't his friend… this wasn't his brother… for a brief moment, Asriel wondered if this was the real Chara… if what they'd seen in the Underground was a lie.

Then time seemed to pick back up as he heard a rush of footsteps, and suddenly the fight lines vanished as Chara was tackled from the side by another human, a woman. The knife that had been forming in Chara's hand went flying, dissipating into nothingness.

Chara was unable to form coherent speech as another human, a man, came over to try to help subdue him. Asriel noticed that the woman was wearing some kind of uniform, a hat lying nearby that seemed to have fallen off when she went lunging for Chara.

Being pinned by two adults didn't seem to stop Chara from trying to struggle, his rage causing him to flail, scratch, and try to bite at the two. The man yet out a yelp and clutched at his hand even as the woman pulled something metal off her belt and managed to pull Chara's arms around to his back.

Asriel heard a clack, and that seemed to break Chara out of his rage for a moment as he slumped. He let out a cough or two, the toxins from the buttercups catching up again as his body shuddered, and he screwed his eyes shut, a hiss of pain escaping his mouth.

But then… then the hiss started to turn into a giggle, and then a chortle. Soon enough, he was chuckling and laughing aloud as he threw his head back and filled the air with his cackles. There was no warmth to it, no joy or happiness. It was a dark, empty laugh.

"What's so funny you damn demented freak?" The man asked as the woman pulled Chara up. Chara let his head drop back, his eyes covered by his hair… but that creepy smile of his was plastered across his face.

"Hehehe… idiot… your a useless idiot Asriel… I guess congratulations are in order… congratulations on screwing yourself and all the Monsters of the Underground over!" Chara looked up, one eye flashing black and red as the other glowed.

Asriel started, a pit slowly growing in his stomach as Chara continued. "Sure, good job ya big crybaby… you stopped me from killing anyone and getting anymore souls. You've saved a bunch of worthless parasites… and trapped yourself up here!" He laughed again, his smile widening.

"The barrier's meant to keep things in sure, but it was designed to keep the Monsters in… who knows what it'd do to a monster that's gotten past it like you did, all thanks to me and the sacrifice I was willing to make!" He began to cackle like a crazy person as he finished with,

"Have fun knowing your free, but all the rest of the Monsters are stuck down there, and now there's nothing you can do to help them! I was the only one who could help free everyone, and you stopped me! Now there hopes and dreams are going to be crushed!"

Asriel dropped to his knees, tears quickly beginning to pour forth from his eyes. He didn't notice another officer arrive and drag the cackling Chara away. All he could see was the faces of his Mom and Dad… the other monsters down there…

He had no way of knowing, truthfully, if Chara was right. Chara could have just been lashing out as his whole plan came crumbling down…

But… but what if he was right? What if the barrier wouldn't let him back through? What if it tried to destroy him as he pushed through? What if he just couldn't pass through at all? He hadn't thought about anything like that!

But then… why would he? He… he had trusted his best friend, his adopted brother… the plan hadn't involved ejecting Chara's soul from his body…

He… was he really an idiot? Had Asriel just doomed his friends and family back home?

It was all too much. He cradled himself and began to bawl, sobbing as he tried to cry out apologies to his Mom, Dad… to every single monster he'd ever met…

He was left like that for only a moment, before he suddenly felt a hand brushing some of his tears away, and a hand gently resting on his shoulder. Asriel blinked, raising his head and looking into the eyes of the woman who had tackled Chara.

Her eyes were a bright green, and had a kind look to them as she offered him a smile. He then looked to the hand, and saw that it was the man with the gun. The weapon was pointing to the ground now and held loosely in his hands.

"I don't know exactly what's going on… but… it's going to be okay." The man said, trying to reassure Asriel. Asriel wasn't sure if the man really believed it, but that this stranger was willing to try to say such showed he cared more about how Asriel was feeling right now than his own brother had…

The woman nodded, and opened her arms up for a hug. Asriel felt his eyes tearing up even more as he cried out again and threw himself into her arms, clinging tightly to her like a life preserver in a violent storm.

The tears didn't stop, and he kept crying until the darkness took him.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Appreciation again goes to my friend Max for taking a look through and giving his feedback, and thank you to those reading and following along. No guarantee's on update schedule, but I'm going to try and see if I can keep the motivation going for 1 chapter every 1.5 weeks. Might pick up when I finish a story I'm doing over on . Anyways enjoy!**

"Alright, go about your business! Nothing to see here folks!"

Officer Isabella Bator heard another officer shouting at the many bystanders still around them. She could hear the murmurs and mumbles filling the air as some people did as told and went back to whatever many had been doing before…

Well, whatever exactly this whole… incident was.

She was still hugging and holding the child… he had passed out in her arms now, the fur on his face matted with tears. She pulled her head back from his shoulder, trying to ignore how soft his ears had felt against her cheek and her inner child's squeeing at how adorable the goat boy was.

 _So is this supposed to be one of those 'Monsters' from the legends? Not very terrifying if you ask me._ She thought to herself as she carefully picked him up. She was surprised how light he felt, given that if she had to guess he had to be at least ten years old.

"Well… that was certainly… something…"

Isabella looked up to the man who was now unloading his shotgun. He looked familiar to her… oh that was right, he was one of the volunteer firefighters for the town. What was name? It took her a moment to dredge it up.

"It certainly was Mr. Perlo-"

"Jason. No need to be formal." He interrupted as he pocketed the two shells and looked down at the boy.

"Jason then… and yes, it was. Though I don't think I saw everything… when I got here, there was a flash of light, and then it was this kid and that… well, that other one."

A part of her wanted to say 'freak' but she wasn't sure if that was fair. Not that it was going to stop others in town as the grapevine spread the word.

"Well, I heard people shouting monster… and saw this figure… almost made me think of a devil at first with the horns and those strange eyes of his… he was wearing robes and carrying the other kid, could have sworn the kid was dead… he was a fair bit bigger then too..." Jason said, shaking his head as he added "So I just told the wife and kid to stay inside, grabbed my gun and raced out here…"

"... only to see the 'monster' become this boy…" Isabella asked, to his nod. She glanced down to him again and added "... this kid doesn't look like he could hurt a fly."

Jason nodded. "That little back and forth those two did made it sound like it. If it wasn't for the look in that kid's eye as he lunged forward, I'd almost wonder if this was all being faked somehow…"

Isabella nodded. That kid had sounded downright murderous when he went for the kid… Asriel if she'd heard it right.

"Think I remember that kid… the human boy I mean." Jason said after a moment… then rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the goat boy. "Though I'm not sure I'd call this fella a monster…"

Isabella felt her lips turning up into a smile, and managed to hold back a soft laugh. "Not what one would think of when they think 'Monster' huh?"

"Nope, not a bit. Heck, I think my little girl would think he's a child sized plush the way he is now." Jason replied, chuckling a bit at the mental image. Then his expression became more serious as he asked "What's going to happen to the little guy now?"

"That…" Isabella said, sighing, "Is a good question. It'd probably help a bit if he was awake to get some answers…" She considered taking him down to the station, but she wasn't sure how he'd react to that…

"I got some smelling salts we could try, if shaking him won't do the trick." Jason offered, to which Isabella nodded after a moment of consideration.

"After all that crying, I'm not in a big rush to wake him up, especially by shaking him like a ragdoll."

"Well, bring him on along then. I'll probably have to rummage around in the medicine cabinet… and tell my wife everything's calmed down." Jason said, glancing down to the child in her arms again before shaking his head in disbelief. Isabella thought she heard him say "If my little girl sees him we might not need the smelling salts."

Isabella bit back a giggle at that thought as she followed Jason, only pausing briefly to gaze at where that knife the human child had summoned had flown off to… yet she didn't see any sign of it. Had she imagined it?

She followed Jason down the street, drawing closer to the edge of town. His place was an older looking house with two stories and a low fence showing off a yard with a swing set and some flower gardens, but not much else.

An aging and slightly rusted truck was parked in the driveway, and Isabella could see who she assumed was Mrs. Perlo through a window at the front as she prepared something for the oven.

Isabella took a brief moment to check on the goat boy, who still appeared to be out of it. She couldn't exactly blame him for that, even as her mind raced with dozens, if not hundreds of questions.

"Give me just a sec, to let her know everything's all right and that she doesn't need to worry… then I'll grab the smelling salts." Jason said, and Isabella nodded as she waited on the porch, softly rocking the unconscious monster child. She heard Jason speaking with his wife for a moment, then he called out "Come on in!"

Walking inside, she found herself in a small hallway with stairs leading up just in front of the door. To her left was an open arch with a hallway leading further into the house, while to her right was the kitchen, which was where she could hear Jason rummaging around as Mrs. Perlo came on out.

Mrs. Perlo had been about to offer greetings, but then her eyes caught the kid, and she froze, rendered speechless as she stared at him. Her face went through several expressions as she tried to say something, anything, but well, it seemed seeing her holding an actual monster child was more than she'd been expecting.

She was however rather certain that the woman did have, even if only for a moment, an almost childlike urge to take Asriel and snuggle him like an oversized plush doll.

She seemed to finally settle on saying "You know honey, when you said you were bringing a cop and a kid over, this wasn't what I thought you meant."

Isabella cracked a smile at that as Jason let out snort, giving the woman a nod. "Officer Isabella Bator, Ebott Police."

The woman, who she hazarded was in her early forties, nodded and said "Tabatha. May I ask what exactly is going on? I heard cries of Monster… but well, he doesn't look like a monster."

"Right now Ma'am, it's a bit complicated." She pondered how best to give a summary of what she had seen. She finally settled for saying, "All I really know for certain is that I just helped save his life from a human child who really wanted to hurt people. I arrived just a bit late to them reaching the fountain and things nearly escalating."

"Tabby?" Jason interrupted before Tabatha could say anything further, sticking his head into the hall, "Their not in the drawer, which bathroom do you think they'd be in?"

"Mhm… try the one upstairs. I'll try the one down here… and do try to be quiet. Frisk is taking a nap." Tabatha replied. Jason nodded and carefully moved up the stairs while Tabatha gestured to the kid.

"Follow me, you can lay him on our couch while we look for the salts."

A short walk down a hall and Isabella found herself in a comfy living room that was full of family pictures and had a few stuffed animals scattered about the place. She walked over to the couch and gently set the kid down. She was again amazed she had been able to pick him up… he looked like he was nearly thirteen, yet he'd felt light as a feather.

Sitting next to him on the couch and gently brushing her fingers against one of his cute, floppy ears, she sighed and said "I really hope you can help us make sense of what just happened out there kiddo."

Even as she replayed what she'd heard the goat boy and the other kid shout at each other, it didn't exactly make much sense to her. The only thing she could really grasp is that the human kid had tricked this one into going along with his murderous plans.

A moment later, Jason returned empty-handed, but thankfully Tabatha arrived with the smelling salts in hand. "Will these even work on a Monster?" She asked as she handed them over to Isabella.

"Only one way to find out." Isabella said as she took the small bottle and undid the cork. She quickly waved it in front of Asriel's nose, and for a brief moment nothing seemed to happen. Then he took in a larger breath, nose wrinkling as his eyes snapped open only to close again as he let out an adorable sneeze.

"U-Ugh, w-what's t-that terrible smell…?" He groaned for a moment… then froze as he opened his eyes back up and saw the three humans right in front of him. Realization and recognition quickly washed over his face, and his expression fell.

"It… it wasn't a dream…" He said quietly, bringing his legs up to his chest as he cradled them. He sniffled a bit, rubbing at his nose again as his eyes began to water.

"If you mean the stuff that Chara boy said… and him trying to kill you… yes." Isabella said softly, giving him a sympathetic look. Her own heart ached for the kid, and she winced at her choice of words as she saw Asriel retreat further into his huddled position.

"Sorry… I could have worded that better… but you're alright now. He can't hurt you here."

"Y-Yes he can… cause I still hurt here…" Asriel says as he began to quietly sob, clutching at his chest.

The three watched for only a moment, before Tabatha knelt down beside him and pulled him into a hug. This time, Asriel seemed to keep some measure of control- he was still crying, but the floodgates hadn't opened up yet.

"Asriel…" Isabella began, then added "It is Asriel right? That's what I heard Chara calling you…" At his nod as he buried himself into the soft embrace of Tabatha, Isabella continued.

"I know you're hurting right now but… I need to ask you some questions. I need to know what exactly happened, every detail you can give, so that I can tell my boss, and we can keep this from becoming a big misunderstanding."

"If the kid needs some time, I can give my statement for everything I saw and heard." Jason said, and Isabella nodded as she looked back to Asriel.

Letting out a soft hiccup as he sniffled some more, Asriel said "I-I… I-I think I need a moment."

"Alright." Isabella said, offering him a smile. She nodded to Tabatha who was still trying to comfort Asriel, and said "I'll be in the kitchen talking with your husband. When Asriel is ready, you can bring him in there."

She nodded as Jason headed off to the kitchen. Isabella stood back up, giving the kid one more sympathetic smile before turning and following after Jason.

* * *

Asriel spent the next ten minutes crying softly to himself, nestled in the embrace of a kind stranger. Her hug had a motherly feeling to it, which helped a little, and yet at the same time just made him think of his own mother who was no doubt worried sick.

The fact she smelled a bit like cinnamon didn't help any.

The sound of someone happily running down the stairs however distracted him for a moment, especially as he felt the woman stiffen a bit.

"Oh dear…" She said, then gave Asriel an apologetic look. "It sounds like Frisk is up… I'd better go corral her before she comes in and sees you… you won't get a moment's peace if she does."

Asriel didn't exactly want to let go right now, and so in an effort to continue enjoying what little comfort he had right now, asked "W-Why's that?"

The woman smiled and said "Frisk absolutely loves the legends about Monsters and the like… she's got a few books from the library on them and even likes to draw what she imagines some of them look like." She gently took hold of his hands and pulled free as she stood up, adding "And to be honest, her first thought might be to think your some big stuffed animal we got her for her upcoming birthday."

Asriel found himself quickly imagining a tiny human trying to squeeze him and hug him like he'd used to do for his own plush animals. The thought made him giggle and smile a bit, then frown as he recalled how Chara had once mentioned enjoying sleeping in the same bed with him…

" _Your like a life-size plushie! So warm and soft and cuddly!"_

"Chara…" He mumbled softly, his heart feeling like it wanted to break again.

The woman gave him a sympathetic look, then offered "If you like, you could come and meet her. She's really sweet and loves making friends…"

Asriel wasn't sure what he'd like right now… he certainly wished that none of this had happened, that he and Chara were still down in the Underground where they'd been happy… or at least, where it seemed they'd been happy.

He knew that he was stuck. He didn't know everything about the barrier, but he did know it was meant to keep Monsters inside. So being only a Monster and trying to fall through… he wasn't sure what would happen. And despite his desire to see his family again, he wasn't fond of the idea of trying to get back in and potentially having something bad happen along the way.

Things had after all, already gone pear shaped.

That being said, since he was stuck up here… it couldn't hurt, could it? So far, the humans hadn't done anything mean to him… well, except make him smell that strange stuff in a bottle. Aside from Chara trying to attack him, none of the other humans had acted violently…

He did also have to go speak with that lady… to tell her what happened. He… he wasn't looking forward to that. And he had a strange feeling that he was going to end up meeting this Frisk one way or the other…

Hesitantly, Asriel nodded his head. "C-Could… c-could you also tell that lady… t-that I'm ready to answer her questions?"

She nodded. "I can do that. I'll call out when I've got Frisk calmed down enough so that she doesn't try to tackle and cuddle you at first sight."

Asriel nodded, trying to dry his eyes as he was soon left alone. As he did so, he finally got a look around the room he was in. It sort of reminded him of the living room back in New Home at the palace, except there were a fair amount more pictures and Golden flowers weren't scattered about the place. There was also a TV situated on a table near the big windows which let him see the house next door and the growing shadows as the sun finished its descent.

Curious about the pictures, he got up and walked over to the nearest one. It was of the woman who had been hugging him just a moment ago, and that man who'd had a gun. They were both sitting on the couch with a cute little baby holding a little bunny plushie.

He smiled a bit at the sight… then his eyes froze on the next picture he saw.

The next picture was a newer one… he could tell because the kid in it wasn't a baby anymore. But what had left him rooted to the spot was the way the kid looked. Brown hair… a striped shirt…

For a brief moment, Asriel would have SWORN that he was looking at a picture with Chara in it. Fortunately, he quickly started picking up some differences, especially as he started looking at the other pictures.

For one, this child, whom he assumed was Frisk (and confirmed a minute later when he found a frame listing their names under a picture of each), had a slightly different skin tone, a bit darker than Chara's own pale complexion.

For another, this child seemed to like blue and violet compared to Chara's, and his own, preference for green and yellow. They also had more almond shaped eyes that almost made them look like they were always squinting.

But otherwise, the child eerily resembled Chara.

This made Asriel briefly wonder if these two were somehow related, but he didn't think so. Chara had said he didn't have family on the surface, that his parents were dead. He'd never said how they died, just that they were dead. Maybe… maybe he had been lying about that too…

Ugh… Asriel didn't want to think about that, yet what he was going to have to share to that lady made it hard not to. He found himself now wondering… had Chara lied in the past about anything else? Had there been signs Asriel missed that could have let him know that's what Chara had been planning…?

"Asriel!" He heard Tabatha call out, drawing his attention away from the pictures and the dark road his thoughts had started taking.

Shaking his head, he said "Coming!" then raised an eyebrow at the very feminine and excited squeal he heard. It didn't sound like that lady or Tabatha… so he could only assume it was the daughter, Frisk.

Taking in a deep breathe, Asriel strode forward. He was not looking forward to the rest of this evening.

* * *

Across the town of Ebott, gossip about what had happened raged like wildfire. Some older residents feared and worried that more of these 'demons' as the Monster had first appeared would come, others wondered about the argument and attempted assault they'd witnessed of the human child against that strange goat boy monster… thing.

The kids talked about how adorable he was and at least one or two of the youngest now wanted plushies of him to hug and snuggle, which some parents found amusing and others worrying.

Word of just who the human child was, and his actions, also quickly circulated. Learning that Chara was still alive surprise quite a few, though there was little sympathy given to him. Many quickly began to recall the kid and how he had acted before he vanished… others recalled the fate of his parents and his role in it…

But a few… particularly the younger adults and teenagers who'd already had their phones out… they quickly got to work uploading the video of the whole thing… sharing it for all the world to see.

The little town of Ebott was soon going to be the most important place on the face of the Earth. Hopefully, the town, and the Prince of Monsters, would be able to handle it.


	4. Chapter 3

Walking into the kitchen, Asriel was forced to stop for a moment and take another deep breath to calm his nerves. And while one might have thought it a possibility, it was not because of the four humans occupying a table in the middle. Though the very excited little girl sitting in the lap of Tabatha certainly would have made him pause a bit anyways.

No, it was the room itself that gave him pause. The placement of various pots and pans, where the fridge and oven sat… the even the obviously different notes and pictures stuck to the front of their freezer seemed to be in the same places as pictures, drawings, and Chara and his graded tests had gone back in New Home.

The only major difference was that the kitchen was bigger and had a small rectangular table in the corner, where the humans were all situated.

He sniffed at the air, and could almost swear he even picked up the scent of cinnamon and butterscotch… the feeling of homesickness that struck him nearly had him drop to his knees and cry again… only the fact that he had spent enough of the last hour crying kept him from doing just that.

Well… that and the sudden soft, warm feeling as a pair of arms wrapped around him.

He opened his eyes and blinked as he looked down, spotting the human girl… Frisk… who even though she was younger than him, eerily reminded him of Chara. She was beaming up at him, eyes nearly closed as she exclaimed "Fuzzy Goatboy! Please don't cry fuzzy Goatboy!"

Her words were followed up by more tight hugging and nuzzling as she buried her face into Asriel's sweater. It was far too adorable, and helped him to push the tears that had been forming away. He smiled and returned the hug only after making sure his eyes were dry.

"S~So… w-where should I start?" He finally asked when Tabatha came over to pull Frisk back and let her sit in her lap, though she was pouting a bit as she gazed excitedly at Asriel. He watched as all three adults seemed to consider it, before Isabella offered

"Why not start from when you first met that child, and how it lead to… well, what happened."

Asriel winced, sighing a bit as he nodded. "Well, alright… it's a bit of a story… it all began two years ago… when Chara fell in through the hole and landed on some flowers…"

* * *

Back in the Underground, things were going a bit crazy. Toriel had called out to Asriel when she had finished making lunch, but when he didn't come, she had gone up to see if he was still with Chara. There she'd found that neither of them were in the room, and when she checked the rest of the house, couldn't find hair nor fur of either.

She had screamed out for Asgore, and they'd called in the Royal Guard as well as WD Gaster. The guards started combing the city, but it was Gaster who quickly tracked down where they had gone as he uses his own magic to feel about for the trace of their souls.

It was then that they learned that their souls had merged… and that they found the note on Asriel's desk… the note telling what their plan was, how they were going to go to the surface and find six more souls so they could destroy the barrier.

"W-What were they both thinking?" Toriel said, her face in her hands as she paced about in the throne room, Asgore slumped in his throne and gazing at the passage that lead to the barrier. Gaster was standing nearby, quietly pondering as he studied the path the two took with one hand while reading the note with the other.

"A pity they left before I could contain Chara's soul for further study." He finally said, his hand ceasing to glow as he concluded his study. He ignored the angry look that Toriel gave him as he said "Especially considering that his body was still alive."

"What!?" Asgore and Toriel both asked at the same time, their eyes locked on the skeletal scientist. Gaster simply shrugged, waving his hands through the air as strange symbols appeared before him and rearranged into what vaguely looked like math equations.

"From what I can sense, Chara's soul still had a minute connection to his body… meaning he had not yet passed on. But he was far enough gone that with enough determination, his soul could leave his body." He hummed a bit at that and tapped a bony figure to his chin. "It would be interesting to study a human body lacking it's soul… would it be like a doll, would it stay alive if assisted in some manner?"

"This is our son your talking about!" Toriel shouted, embers flickering at the edges of her fingers.

"Tori…" Asgore called softly, "Dr. Gaster cannot help it… he is curious about everything, and has always desired to explore as many possibilities as he can, from as many directions as he can find."

Gaster gave a simple nod of agreement to that, and Toriel let out a sigh. Gaster seemed to take that as a reason to continue relaying his findings.

"Regardless, combined they are indeed enough to pass through the barrier… they might even have enough power to bring another through with them if they so choose. From the sound of it though, they are seeking to find six more souls so they can free us from our prison."

Asgore smiled a bit at that. "Asriel… thinking about all of us… and Chara… willing to take such a risk… for all our sakes…"

"Asgore… you do know what they'll likely have to do to get six more souls right?" Toriel asked, her own voice full of worry for both her children. "It's not like their going to be able to just walk up to six humans and ask if they can borrow their souls…"

"Believe me Tori… I know… and I'm trying not to think about that…" Asgore said, it now his turn to place his head in his hands. "Especially with how Chara feels towards humans…"

"With the power they have, they could easily defend themselves if necessary." Gaster interjected. "The only way there would be trouble is I suspect if they were caught by surprise… or if they did something that the other objected to. We have almost no actual knowledge on what precisely happens when a Monster absorbs a soul… only very ancient myths. Yes, such a pity that they were in such a hurry…"

"They know we might have told them not to do it…" Asgore rumbled as he stood, marching over to rest an arm against one of the arches that let the artificial light filter into the chamber. "Which they wouldn't be wrong…"

"I just wish we could know what's happened…" Toriel said, brow creased with concern for Chara and especially Asriel. She knew the world above could be violent… even without the little bit she'd been able to coax out of Chara. Asriel was as much of a softy as his father, a quality she dearly loved and admired but that could prove a liability for him if he wasn't careful.

"We should wait… we don't even know how far it is to Chara's village… maybe it will be night when they get there and no one will see them." Asgore suggested. "Standing here and worrying won't do anyone any good."

Toriel reluctantly nodded, sighing as she glanced to the passage again. Asgore gave her a soft kiss on the top of his head as he murmured "I'll go make us some tea."

"Do call me if they return anytime soon your Majesties." Gaster said, giving a slight bow. "If you have no further need for me, I shall return to my lab to check in on the work my assistant is undertaking."

"Of course Dr. Gaster… we'll keep in touch." Asgore said, the Royal Scientist seeming to blink out of view. He shook his head a bit, again wondering how it was that he was able to do that, before casting his gaze to his beloved. She was staring out the window, down at the courtyard where they'd often watched their children run and play.

 _By the grace of our Ancestors… I hope they're alright._ Asgore thought to himself before stepping out, making for the kitchen and trying his best not to dwell on that which he could do nothing about.

He didn't have much luck with it.

* * *

"... and that's what lead us up to… to what happened at the fountain." Asriel finished, having stuck, as good as he could, to a summarized version of Chara's arrival in the Underground, how he'd been taken in by the Royal Family, and how an cooking accident for their father had lead to the idea of Chara poisoning himself so that Asriel and he could head up to the surface to gather six more souls.

The humans had a mixture of expressions on their faces. Frisk still seemed enamored or maybe awestruck by him, while her mother was giving him a sympathetic look. The police officer Isabella, surface version of the Royal Guard as she'd described it to him, had a thin frown on her face. Jason just looked a bit confused.

"How exactly were you planning on getting six more souls?" He finally asked, making Asriel wince a bit. "I don't think you were going to just find six humans willing to just volunteer them."

"I… to be honest… I never really thought that part through…" Asriel said as he rubbed his arm and looked away in shame. "Chara never really went into the details… just said we'd take them from the bad humans. I… I put too much trust into him… I-I didn't think he'd…"

Asriel was nearly on the verge of tears again, it almost feeling like he was going to fall down at any moment. Only a lingering feeling of DETERMINATION was keeping him from just collapsing… and it wasn't directed towards freeing the Underground now, merely getting back home to his parents.

 _And you might not even be able to do that…_ Asriel reminded himself, thinking about what Chara had said before he was dragged off. Asriel wasn't sure whether he should trust those parting words or not, but he hadn't been wrong. Asriel was the first Monster to see the surface in an untold number of years.

Isabella sighed, taking her hat off and rubbing at her forehead. "Well, I can safely say that I'm glad you stopped your brother… and I really do appreciate you going ahead and telling me everything." She holds up the notepad she had been using. "I could tell it wasn't easy for you."

Asriel nods, trying to dry his eyes again as he discovered at some point during the story they'd started growing damp and teary again. "I just want to get back home… I want to see my Mom and Dad again…"

"Can't you?" Tabatha asked, only to be interrupted by Frisk who bounced in her lap.

"The big mean berrier thingy is supposed to keep Monsters in! Azzy the Goatboy said so!"

Asriel wasn't sure how to take the little girl using the nickname Chara used for him, but he nodded. "A monster has never gotten past the barrier… and Chara was the first human to fall into the Underground… at least, as far as I know. And since it's meant to keep us in…"

"... You don't know what happens if _just_ a Monster tries to go through alone." Jason finished.

"Yes… I'd… I'd like to think it'd just let me back through… but nothing's ever come through the part of the barrier near the throne room. And the drop from the hole in some cave is rather high… I'm not sure if a Monster would survive the impact. Chara was pretty hurt when I found him after all, but human bodies are made up of more physical matter…"

They were all silent after that, even Frisk. Asriel let out a sigh and looked back to the floor, not sure what happened now, and not knowing what else to say.

Isabella was the first to break the silence.

"Well, with all of this, I can write up my report. And considering the circumstances, I at least don't think there's any reason to place charges on you. Not only are you a juvenile, and one who I don't think could hurt a fly much less a human, but you were manipulated by someone you trusted and would never have agreed to this if you'd known what your brother wanted to do."

Asriel felt a bit relieved, even if he still felt horrible… after all, she wasn't entirely right- he had been the one to bring the buttercups for Chara to eat… just because he hadn't shoved them down his throat didn't mean he hadn't hurt someone…

"More importantly," She continued, "You are a member of a Royal Family, and may be the only one who can help us get in touch with those stuck under the Mountain, which I suspect my boss will want to do. Your Mother and Father do need to be told about what's happened after all."

He nodded at this, even as he felt a pit forming in his stomach…

"That being said, I think we need to keep you in town. My boss and others at the station will likely want to ask you their own questions… and until we can figure out an easy and safe way for you to get back to your parents, I at least couldn't in good conscience let you head back up the mountain alone. Especially at night."

A glance outside would indeed show that the sun had set and that night had fallen. He couldn't see the mountain, but he suspected it'd look rather ominous in the dark.

"I understand… w-will… w-will I be going to the station and going into a cell?" Asriel quietly asked, figuring that after a fashion it'd be fitting.

Isabella looks over to Jason, then Tabatha, who return her look evenly before Tabatha smiles and nods.

"Actually… I don't think a cell or the station are a good place for you to be right now. I think it'd be much better, for your emotional well being, if you stayed here for the night. Tomorrow morning we can-"

Frisk let out a joyous squeal at this, rushing over and tackling Asriel who let out a surprised bleat. She sat on his chest with the biggest, warmest grin as she said "Monster Sleep-over!" and then proceeded to cuddle and snuggle the dumbstruck Asriel.

Tabatha chuckled a bit as she shook her head. "Isabella, I'm not sure you'll be able to take him anywhere even if you wanted to now."

Jason was smiling as well, while Isabella leaned over and whispered "While I wasn't quite expecting that kind of response… you can't say it's not helping."

Indeed, to his own obvious surprise and with a fair bit of a blush, Asriel felt the ghost of a smile forming on his muzzle as he hesitantly accepted the eager hugs from Frisk, giggling a bit as she booped him on the nose and squeezed him again… not that she could do much squeezing with her arms only just being able to stretch around his middle.

"Now Frisk, your new friend has to be okay with staying the night. He's had a really rough day and-" Jason began, but Asriel interrupted him.

"I-I… it's… I'm fine with it…" He looks away a bit as he says "O-Officer Bator was right… I-I don't think I'd be as comfortable being at a police station… t-that is if you really don't mind…"

Jason and Tabatha shared a look again, and Tabatha said "It's not a problem for a sweet little Monster like you."

"You did us all a favor by stopping your brother from hurting anyone… the least we can do for that is to give you a bed to sleep in." Jason added as Isabella nodded, gathering her hat and notebook.

Asriel sniffled, a soft smile spreading over his face as gratitude shown in his dampening eyes. "I don't know why Chara felt as he did about humans… especially with all of you being so nice…"

Isabella placed a hand on Asriel's shoulder as she made her way towards the door. "That's something we'll be trying to figure out if we can… as soon as we learn anything, you'll be the first to know."

For a moment… Asriel's eyes scrunched up, his mind torn. Did he really want to know why Chara had acted as he had? Did he want to know what could have caused so much hatred that it was consuming his very soul? That could leave him so full of DETERMINATION to hurt and kill…? To even turn on his… his brother?

Did he want those answers?

He felt a few new tears slip out of his eyes, and after a moment, he slowly nodded. "Thank you… I-I… I need to understand… I need to be able to make sense of all this… n-not just for me… but for Mom and Dad too…"

Isabella nodded, and gave his shoulder a firm squeeze before she headed on out, Asriel watching her leave before he felt a hand reaching up to wipe his fresh tears away. He blinked, and looked down to see the sweet smile Frisk was giving him.

"Everything gonna be okay Azzy Goatboy! No be sad anymore, please?"

Asriel wasn't as sure about what lay ahead as Frisk was… he wasn't sure everything could be okay after today…

But he could see something in her as he returned her gaze… something that was familiar… but in a… better way. A golden, inner light that shone forth and somehow, managed to lift his spirits.

"I-I'll try. For my new friend." Asriel replied, which earned him another glomple from the exuberant young girl. As he wrapped his arms around Frisk, he found it within himself to stay DETERMINED.

He would see his parents again… he'd find a way home… and maybe… just maybe… he'd find a way to do what he and Chara had set out to do…

Only this time… he'd do it the right way.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This chapter was a bit late because I was a bit tired this week and not as inspired, distracted as I was by other thoughts and ideas and things.  
Nevertheless, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, next chapter things expand a bit more and we move beyond just Ebott and the Underground!  
**

This was a case she just knew she wasn't going to be able to forget. And one of the reasons for that was the child she was watching through the observation window as the doctor and two nurses tended to him.

Isabella had finished writing up and giving her report to her boss, who was just so amazed and flabbergasted by the whole thing that he didn't know where to start. He'd decided to go check and see if they had anything on file for Chara, as he had recognized the name, then told her to go check and see if the kid was going to live.

The doctor had told her that the kid should have been dead even before they brought him here from how many buttercup petals he'd eaten, but somehow had been able to hold onto life. As crazy as it had sounded, the man had wondered aloud if it had anything to do with the intense, hate filled glares he'd been giving everyone since the officers brought him into the clinic.

She rubbed softly at her right cheek- as it turned out, Chara had managed to actually land a solid enough hit that a bruise was starting to form there. She hadn't liked the way he had seemed to smile at that before they put him under and started pumping his stomach.

It was so strange to look at his currently peaceful and sleeping form, and then to think about the crazed, rage and hate fueled thing he'd been earlier. And having heard what she had from Asriel, it was disconcerting to say the least.

 _How could a kid who seemed to care and love his adoptive family so much do this? Trick his brother into nearly becoming an accomplice to murder, to try to strike him with lethal intent, and then taunt him when his plans have fallen apart?_

She glanced down to the folder she was holding, considering opening it up and leafing through it. One of the nurses had brought it over after she'd given them the kid's name. Turned out the clinic had some old records on him as well from two years prior.

With nothing better to do while she waited for one of the clinic staff to come tell her the kid would live, she found a seat nearby and opened it up, hoping that this and any files the precinct had would help shed some light on the genocidal pre-teen.

The first thing she notes is that the files listed him as being under foster care, so that was already giving a tick to there being something of interest to explore with regard to his past. It gave the names of the two who had been taking care of him, as well as a number to reach them by. She'd be making use of that when she returned to the station.

Of much more interest to her was some notes about mental health issues, including mention of psychopathic tendencies but no clear diagnosis for it.

Other than that though, there wasn't much else within the document to provide any clues. He showed no signs of physical abuse in his older files and had been in relatively good shape for his age.

The doctor soon came out, letting her know that Chara had been stabilized. He was also going to be left sedated for a bit and strapped to the bed to ensure he couldn't harm anyone who came in. Apparently while she had been talking with Asriel, Chara had tried to make a lunge for a scalpel.

"There's really just one odd thing though…" The doctor remarked as he glanced through the window as well. "He was already starting to recover and stabilize as we sedated him. It was as if his anger and rage were making him… determined to live, to fight the toxins from those flowers."

Isabella frowned a bit at that word. Asriel had, in his story, made mention of that when referring to human souls. And the word seemed to hold a bit more connotation to it than it had yesterday.

"Well, continue to keep an eye on him all the same… I'll have another officer come by to act as extra security when I leave." The doctor gave her an appreciative nod at this, then turned to hurry off and deal with some of his other patients. This left Isabella on her own in the hallway as she stared at the sleeping form of Chara.

"I don't know what happened to make you the way you are kid… but I promised a Prince I'd find out." She murmured, blushing just a bit at that as her own inner child squeed again. It was not the way any of her childhood dreams involving royalty would have gone, but then again none of said royalty had involved fluffy monster children.

Shaking her head at that, she pulled her radio out and flicked the switch, calling for another officer to come relieve her, so she could head home and get some sleep. In the morning, she had some foster parents to check in on…

* * *

The rest of the night was a blur to Asriel. He'd gotten to eat with the Perlo's, Frisk asking him all kinds of questions again even before food had been served- the big one being if Monsters could eat human food.

And the answer as far as Asriel knew was yes. Though as he quickly found out, only in small quantities, as the tummy-ache he developed quickly revealed. Tabatha made a note that she'd give him smaller portions for as long as he was staying or visiting.

He appreciated her mention of the latter, as it suggested that somehow he'd find a way back home. Though he nearly broke down again when she pulled out from the oven an apple cinnamon pie she'd been preparing before he was brought over- the smell reminded him of his Mother's Butterscotch and Cinnamon cream pie.

The fact that he was full still also meant he couldn't even try any tonight when it was warm and fresh! Which didn't do much to distract him from his homesickness, but after desert had been devoured, and they went to the living room to relax for a bit Frisk managed to make him feel better by drawing a picture of their families eating baking and eating pies.

Doing his best to keep even a spark of that determination he'd felt earlier, both after Isabella promised to get some answers for him and the Perlo family had said they were happy to have him as their guest, and when he'd defied Chara, Asriel tried to work up the nerve to ask the humans some questions as well… but didn't have much luck on that front thanks to still being homesick and overstuffed.

So instead, he observed the Perlo family as they relaxed, trying to learn a bit more about each.

Tabatha seemed to be big on books like his mother, showing him a decent sized bookshelf in the corner of the room. She even said he could read any but the ones on the top two shelves. Asriel accepted that, not wanting to push. Besides, he couldn't reach them without a chair and maybe some books as a platform anyways.

Jason paid attention to the TV as well as what he called a laptop, a more mobile computer. He was a bit surprised to learn that Asriel knew what a computer was, but didn't inquire much when Asriel mentioned that sometimes trash from the surface managed to find it's way down to the part of the Underground known as Waterfall. He was most interested in news, both on the TV and the computer from when he stole a moment to look over his shoulder.

Frisk was… well, fond of monsters. She apparently got it from an Aunt who lived in town and had always loved the stories and legends of Mt. Ebott. The fact that some of the first plushies she'd been given had been monsters, albeit ones that Tabatha explained had been made up, certainly encouraged it.

Frisk spent much of her time trying to bombard Asriel with more questions, and when asked by Jason if she could instead show him more of her drawings and stuffed animals, quickly shifted gears faster than Tsunderplane did flying away from one of her crushes.

Many of the drawings were what Asriel would have expected of any kid, be they human or monster. The imagination was certainly a powerful thing after all.

But Asriel was rendered speechless when he saw one page that just had a bunch of monster doodles on it, with a few looking remarkably familiar! He could almost swear one was of this skeleton he'd seen in Snowdin before…

"Frisk, how did you come up with this one?" Asriel asked, pointing to a smiling deer with trees atop its antlers.

Frisk hummed and looked at the picture in question, then smiled and said "I saw it in a dream! He was sad because he had stuff all over his antlers and treelers, so I helped take it all down for him!"

Asriel was left rather… confused by that, as he thought about Gyfttrot… he was familiar with that monster by his reputation of helping the monsters create their own version of Christmas. Even named it after him- Gyftmas!

And that had been after a bunch of younger monsters decided to play a prank on him and put decorations and stuff all over him.

Frisk's dream didn't sound so much like a dream as… a vision. And he wasn't sure what to make of that.

From what Tabatha said after that, it seemed a lot of her monster drawings came from her dreams. Frisk said she'd wanted to write stories about some of them, but she wasn't very good at writing letters yet, so she stuck to doodles.

Maybe later, Asriel would say something about that to her Mom and Dad.

He spent the remaining hour before it was time for bed listening to Frisk tell him about the various stories she'd come up with, and watched her again do another drawing of him and his family. His eyes watered when he saw her include Chara in the drawing, and he cried when she gave it to him. Now it was his turn to pull the human child in for a tight hug, which she reciprocated to the best of her abilities.

Asriel was lead up to the guest bedroom by Tabatha, with Jason picking up the nearly passed out Frisk and rocking her in his arms as he followed behind them.

"If you have any trouble sleeping or need anything, we're just down the hall." Tabatha said as she smiled at him and helped tuck him in.

"T-Thank you… Thank you for being so nice to me." Asriel said with a smile, earning a ruffle of his head from Tabatha.

"There's no need to thank us… just doing what's right and helping someone in need. It's what everyone should do."

Asriel noted that she briefly looked a bit sad at that, but she smiled again and said "Good night Asriel."

"Good Night Miss Perlo."

Asriel had then rolled over and closed his eyes, and hoped to have a peaceful night of sleep. But that was not to be, not in the least.

Instead, it didn't take long for nightmares to come and visit his sleep. An image of the town of Ebott in flames, dead humans everywhere… a tall monstrous form slashing into another human and drawing their soul out… growing larger and more powerful before it transformed into a giant winged being…

He saw that monstrous being laying waste to all the Earth, cleansing it of humans, leaving not a single one alive… it would wipe the disease from the world, create a world where Monsters could live free… even if it had to become the devil itself to do so.

The nightmare then shifted- he wasn't the monstrous winged demon… he was his merged form with Chara. He was… he was in the Perlo house. And he saw the face of Jason, looking stunned and confused as he pierced him with one of his chaos sabers.

He watched, unable to control his body, as they advanced up the stairs, to the room where Tabatha and Frisk were… he saw the fear in their faces as he raised his blade. He…

Asriel awoke with a scream, and found himself in the arms of someone… no, of several someones. He blinked his tear filled eyes several times, and found the concerned faces of Jason, Tabatha and Frisk looking at him, their eyes full of worry.

He would later learn they'd heard him thrashing and whimpering in his sleep, and tried to wake him up. When he'd started crying in the throes of his nightmare, it had awoken Frisk, and she'd come to check on him too.

Right then and there though, it was quickly decided he was not going to sleep alone, and so it was he found himself in the master bedroom, cuddled up against Tabatha with Frisk hugging his front as she laid atop Jason's chest.

It was a tangled mess of snuggling humans and one goat monster, and it left him feeling… safe. The nightmares wouldn't come back to haunt him now, even though he didn't know why he felt so certain about that.

He decided not to try to think about why or how… the nightmares had left him drained… and he was warm and comfortable… before long, he was out like a light, head resting atop the soft brown hair of Frisk.

* * *

" _I'm telling you, this is real footage! I got it from my phone camera, it's not edited!"_

" _This has to be fake, there's no way Monsters are real."_

" _Hey look, another video from a different angle! Man that thing almost looks like the fucking devil, see those eyes? I can feel the evil through my screen!"_

" _Wait, it's not just a Monster? What the heck is going on in this video?"_

" _Holy Shit! Where'd the knife come from?!"_

" _Oh my gosh, that goat boy looks so adorable, I just want to pick him up and squeeze him!"_

" _Where the heck did they come from? Is the Monster an alien? Was he possessing the kid?"_

 _"Listen to the rest of the video man, sounds like it was the other way around"_

 _Youtube- Monster in Ebott! Real Footage_

 _View Count as of Midnight, August 15th, 2013- 1,452,987 and counting_

 _Share Count- 791,108 and counting_

 _1:37am US Eastern First News Media pickup of the viral video._


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: I was considering doing it with historical leaders and the like, but decided coming up with Alt. ones was a better idea in the long run.  
** **Next chapter I will try to make a bit longer and have a bit more going on in it, was feeling a bit drained and tired when writing some of this.  
Hope you enjoy it though!  
**

President Stacy Pizano rubbed at her forehead. Today was not turning out the way she was expecting it to. Things were escalating in Egypt, and there was always more news coming out about the events in Syria. And there was always more trouble from the Conservatives and Independents…

Now here she was, watching a video that was making the rounds on various social media platforms and raising quite the interesting ruckus among the major media outlets as the sun rose on the Eastern seaboard.

She was also trying to ignore the big black binder sitting near her laptop as she did her best to focus on the video. She had briefly skimmed the contents along with her VP, Kevin Bremmings, before they'd been shown the video.

This was the third time she'd watched it. And even with the information from the binder, she was simply having trouble believing it.

"Are you seriously telling me that Monsters are real, that magic is real, and that we've been sitting on top of a prison complex for nearly three centuries?" She finally asked the man sitting across from her, who was simply known by the name Agent One.

"Yes ma'am to two of those, and closer to five hundred or nearly six hundred years for the other one. Or hell, maybe even older. A few of our historians have suggested maybe these Monsters were originally from the lost Continent of Atlantis, as were the humans who imprisoned them."

Stacy and Kevin shook their heads at that as he continued. "Our own records that we have, and you would not believe how long it's taken to track even these down, isn't even sure if the Monsters are from Europe and were banished from there, or were native here to the America's and kept themselves hidden somehow until Europeans arrived…"

Stacy rubbed her head again. As soon as she'd become President this year, she'd expected to learn some things that most folks didn't know about. That Area 51 was actually something called Section 51 and that it was a branch of the government that just looked out for and studied the strange and unusual and things that most people would laugh and call you crazy for, she hadn't been as surprised as she thought she'd be.

But this… learning that they'd had information about a group of… well, people, monsters, monster people? Whatever they were, trapped right beneath them with no way out…but that people could find their way in?

"How has no one else noticed this? Hell, how haven't they broken free yet? Exploring uncharted places and finding what's out there is part and parcel of the American dream isn't it?" Kevin asked, and Stacy had to agree.

"A better question- why wasn't this brought to me the same day you introduced the existence or your organization to me."

Agent One shrugged. "We don't know for certain Madame President. Just because we know OF these things doesn't mean we're equipped to confirm every single detail."

His assistant added "We only started discovering the possibility something like that might exist in the early 1900s. We didn't find our first piece of historical evidence of the Monster war until 1957. What we have there has been scavenged to death from across the America's and bits and pieces from over in Europe."

"And not all of it was relinquished freely." Agent One said before either Stacy or Kevin could interrupt. "Some of that is also what limited tests we've been able to over time, very covertly I might add, conduct."

"And the fact you weren't able to pick up anything conclusive meant you weren't able to tell us about it." Kevin concluded.

Agent One nodded. "Our organization was founded close to the turn of the 20th century with the goal to investigate the obscure, the unknown, the strange and whatever else there might be. But we make a point, as we have from the beginning, to only reveal what we do know when we are given something to confirm what he have isn't utter shit."

The assistant nodded. "And until this Monster kid came out, we couldn't confirm it. We sent some agents to Mt. Ebott in the past, but we never heard from them again. I have no idea what happened to any of them. We decided trying to investigate the peak and above was too dangerous until we could find a way to gain more knowledge."

Stacy and Kevin returned their eyes to the screens, watching the seven recordings of the incident in Ebott from different angles. They listened to the argument between the two, and after a moment, Stacy asked "Do we know what that kid could have done if he actually had been able to do what he wanted to do?"

Agent One frowned. "You mean if he'd collected a number of human souls, say more than they mention they need?" Stacy nodded, and Agent One shrugged. "I have no idea. We only have vague allusions to fears of what a Monster could do with just one soul. We don't have a clue what a Monster with an entire town's worth of souls could do."

"That's assuming there isn't some point where it balances out, though from the sound of it until they broke apart the human kid was the one in control, not the Monster child." The assistant noted.

Stacy stared at the screen, watching as the video replayed one more time. She then looked to the two men and her Vice President and said "We need to get there ASAP and find out what EXACTLY what is going on before this blows up any further."

That at least was something that was in complete agreement, and within a minute the four of them were marching out of the Situation Room.

* * *

Asriel's nose twitched as he caught the scent of something floating up the stairs. He squirmed about a bit, trying to go back to sleep. But as the smell grew stronger, his stomach rumbled as his nose started to recognize just what the smell was.

"Mmhm… mom… m-mom's making… cinnamon pancakes…" He said, smiling as he started to stretch. When he felt the form of someone next to him, his first thought was his brother, Chara, and he reached out and lightly shook them as he said "Chara, Mom's making your favorite…"

"Mhmh still sleepy." The voice responded, a voice that wasn't Chara's. Asriel's eyes promptly shot open, and he looked to it's source. The owner of the voice might have looked like a smaller, younger version of his brother, but _her_ voice was a dead give away…

 _Frisk…_

The name quickly bubbled up, and with it, memories of yesterday. If he'd been in bed alone, he would have started crying… instead, he simply pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged them, whimpering into his knees as his eyes grew damp.

 _That's something Chara certainly was never wrong about… I am a crybaby..._ Asriel thought to himself, trying his best not to feel homesick or miserable.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrapping around him. Asriel blinked and looked to his side, where Frisk had buried her face into his side, hugging him tightly. She glanced up to him and smiled, but seeing his face asked "Azzy have more bad dreams?"

Asriel didn't know how to respond to that at first, unsure if he should say yes or no. But after a moment of looking at the sweet almond shaped eyes of Frisk, he gave a sad smile and shook his head.

"No… just… what your mom or dad are cooking… reminds me of home. And… and my brother."

Frisk nodded, seeming to understand. Or at least knowing he was feeling bad. Frisk seemed a bit strange if he was going to be honest with himself. She then sniffed at the air, and beamed as she said "Mama's makin' Cinnamon waffles!"

Well, Asriel had been close to the truth, though he didn't have much time to think about that- Frisk was tugging him out of bed, showing a surprising amount of strength for a six-year-old. Then again, humans _were_ made of more physical matter than Monsters.

"C'mon~! Azzy hasta try Mama's yummy waffles!" Frisk said as Asriel decided it would take less time and effort and just let Frisk drag him downstairs, trying to rub the rest of the sleep out of his eyes.

"I-I'm coming I'm coming already." Asriel mumbled, finally being let go as they got to the bottom of the stairs, where Frisk practically threw herself into the waiting arms of her Dad as he came back in with the morning paper. He booped Frisk on the nose with a finger, earning cute giggles from her before looking to Asriel and asking

"Did you get enough sleep?"

Asriel shrugged a bit, unsure himself since he didn't exactly look at the clocks. "I think so, at least after we were all sharing your bed."

Jason nodded, giving Asriel a sympathetic look as he motioned him to go ahead of him. Asriel did just that, then stopped and blinked in surprise at the massive stack of waffles sitting in the middle of the table.

Tabatha noticed this and chuckled. "I hope I didn't go overboard. Waffles are a bit of a family favorite here, but since your our guest I wanted to make sure there was enough to go around."

"M~Monsters can't eat as much human food as you can… I~I think there'll be enough." Asriel said after a moment. The platter of waffles was almost taller than Frisk, which seemed to amuse the girl considerably as she actually climbed onto the table and snatched one from the top to nibble on.

"Now now Frisk, no climbing on the table." Jason said as he got her back to her own seat while Asriel made the wise and preemptive decision to sit right next to her. She smiled at him and made 'omnomnomnom' sounds as she started working on it. Even his own gloomy mood this morning couldn't survive unscathed against such displays of cuteness, and he giggled a bit as he ruffled her hair.

This meal went better this time, as Asriel made sure to take less so his own stomach wouldn't be overwhelmed by the influx of human food as it had at dinner. And indeed, Tabatha made fantastic waffles. Asriel was kind of envious they could have a few more than he could- maybe if he was up here long enough he'd be able to end up having more human food.

He tried not to think about that too much, and so instead chose that moment to ask some questions he hadn't gotten to ask yesterday. Like what it was they all did.

Jason it seemed was a volunteer firefighter in the town, and also worked at a Hunting and Camping shop. Tabatha was the Preschool teacher for the afternoons at the small school the town boasted. And Frisk was a kindergartner there, though since it was a small school and they had only five teachers she went to the afternoon classes instead of the morning ones.

As the others started to finish off their plates, Asriel asked Tabatha, "W~Would you like some help cleaning up?"

Tabatha blinked a bit, but then after a moment smiled and nodded. "I'd really appreciate that, thank you Asriel. Would you grab the dishes while I get the water going?"

Jason and Frisk handed their dishes over as Asriel gathered the plates and cups, Jason heading to the living room to check the TV news and his paper while Frisk chose to stick close to Asriel, and with the grabbing of a step stool, to watch and help dry the cleaned dishes.

This didn't go on for long though, as within five minutes Jason was calling out "Hey, everyone, come here!" There was a bit of urgency to his voice that caught their attention, and with dripping hands the three of them hurried to the living room. Jason was turning the volume up on the TV, and as they saw what was playing on it, Asriel could understand why.

"... we have confirmed from our specialists the video that has taken social media by storm is not in fact fake or computer generated. This is indeed the image of what appears to be a child-sized goat monster in the streets of a small town in West Virginia called Ebott. The strange incident was caught at multiple angles from several individuals present. The combined footage has already reached nearly fifty million views and ten million shares…"

Asriel squeaked at that, eyes turning to little pinpricks as he heard those numbers. Social media, and the internet, weren't alien concepts to Asriel or the Monsters. In fact, he'd heard that the assistant to Dr. WD Gaster was the one who'd helped set up the Undernet for the Monster Kingdom.

But the idea that so many humans had seen him push Chara back out, had seen their argument, had seen his brother trying to attack him…

Something told him that today was going to be anything but simple.


	7. AN Hiatus

Hello everyone

To those following this story, I apologize for no updates. I haven't been able to get myself to work on this of late, my motivation for the story having  
slipped significantly. The fact that my external microphone that I was using for doing voice to text typing to put less strain on my wrists is broke doesn't  
help matters in the least.

I have also had to scrap most of my outline for this story, as I decided it wasn't going the way I wanted it to and thus am having to try and rewrite the  
outline and determine how and where things are going and what the ending is.

Alongside this, I have two other things I have much more desire to work on right now, that being a crossover timeline of Star Trek and Star Wars over  
on the Alternate History Discussion Board, and My Little Ponytales over on .

All of this together is leaving me to decide that I need to put this story on an extended hiatus until I can figure out what I want to do here with this story.  
It is not being abandoned yet, as I would like to finish the story. If it reaches a point where I am not sure I will finish the story, I will put it up for adoption  
by any interested parties with the ideas I'd had of where it was to go.

When I reach a point where I can update this story, this authors note type chapter will be deleted.


	8. Cancelled

I am cancelling this story, due to an inability to get myself motivated to return to it. My attempts at trying to work on the outline and flesh it out more to get what I'd like or even to bother trying to write for it at all have gotten nowhere, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get myself motivated to come back to this. I believe that I bit off more than I can chew, and seeing as I'm having more success working on the outline for Soul Sight (and revising a different UndertalexMLP idea that I previously had a finished outline for but hadn't started working on) I figured it was best to admit that in this case, for this story, there's no more I can do right now.

If there is anyone who might be interested in adopting/taking on this story, please message me and I can try to give a general idea of what I'd hoped for it, or just hand the reigns over.

Apologies to those who enjoyed it, but this story shall remain unfinished, by my hands at least.


End file.
